Something not a lot of people realize, and I'd imagine even fewer actually complied with is the following..........
You were in the business prior to the restrictions on 12. At that time, 12 sold in quantity for about 55 cents/lb. So, you buy a couple thousand pounds and put it in stock.
But, the primary reason for the price increase post regulation was an annually increasing tax on 12. And if you read the actual law, you were required to report any 12 in stock yearly, and pay additional tax on all inventory.
So, you bought it for 55 cents. If the first increment of tax was $1/lb and you still had 1800# in stock, you owed uncle sam $1800. Next increment was another buck, and you still had 1500# in stock, you owed your uncle another $1500. And so on until the full tax was applied. Pounds in stock times current tax rate minus previously paid tax on that number of pounds.
Any bets on how many small business owners complied with that? I know I never discussed the issue with anyone who paid a cent on any 12 they had in stock.